NYT Coverage of Iran Deal Looks Quite Different From the Science Section

[Triana]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/science/irans-unsung-plutonium-concession-in-nuclear-deal.html?ref=world&_r=0

. . .

“It was an incredibly big breakthrough,” said Siegfried S. Hecker, a Stanford professor and former director of the Los Alamos weapons lab in New Mexico, the birthplace of the bomb. “But nobody seems to care.”

. . .

Tehran’s vow was a major turnaround, say nuclear experts, who express frustration that political jousting and technical naïveté have largely obscured what they call one of the accord’s main triumphs.

“It’s a real success,” said Frank N. von Hippel, a physicist who advised the Clinton administration and now teaches at Princeton. “I was surprised that they were willing to give it up.”

Richard L. Garwin, a principal designer of the world’s first hydrogen bomb and a longtime adviser to Washington on nuclear weapons and arms control, called the redesign “a great achievement.” He and other scientists signed a letter to President Obama last month praising the Iran deal as innovative and stringent.

Bomb veterans say the central importance of Tehran’s plutonium concession becomes strikingly clear in the light of history.

[Botany]

1. "As a nuclear physicist, I'm confident in the scientific and technical parameters of the #IranDeal"

Ernie Moniz

https://twitter.com/ernestmoniz?lang=en

Nice little video @ link too ..... Under this deal Iran can't produce plutonium or any
U235 that is bomb grade ..... no bomb grade fissile materials = no nuclear bombs

[MBS]

3. the Moniz video is really good

the teamwork of Kerry and Moniz and their respective agencies was awesome. Government at its best.

[Botany]

5. Professor Ernie is one of the best in the world if not the best @ understanding nuclear arms ....

... and their production. His background is really awesome.

http://energy.gov/contributors/dr-ernest-moniz

[MBS]

6. oh, yeah, absolutely.

One more reason why I have no respect for the political grandstanders who choose to question the rigor of the deal. (As if they know ANYthing).

Plus he has all the right diplomatic instincts, too. When I heard that, knowing that his Iranian counterpart went to MIT, and that he had a grandson on the way, Moniz thought to acquire an MIT-logo baby outfit for the Iranian's grandson, I knew that we were going to be able to pull this off.

Plus, thanks to an honor bestowed this summer by his parents' ancestral home of Portugal, Moniz is now officially royalty to boot. (His team jokingly referred to him as "Sir Ernie of Fall River" )

I'm so proud to think of the first-rate negotiators representing my country at that table. Kerry, Moniz, Obama, Wendy Sherman.. the best.

[karynnj]

9. +100000

Not to mention, Moniz was awesome dealing with all the hearings - with thoughtful answers to everything and a wonderful, genial demeanor - especially in many joint sessions with Kerry. Even without the Boston Globe article, it would have been obvious that there was a very good relationship between them. It was lucky that MIT trained many of the Iranian scientists - that bond had to really help. That bond added to the bond that Kerry and Zarif developed were key by most accounts.

I loved the story that "Sir Ernie" shared a special bottle of wine with Kerry and Wendy Sherman on their trip back after the deal was made.

After the historic Iranian nuclear deal that happened earlier this month, it’s easy to imagine Secretary of State John Kerry was more than ready for a celebratory toast of some sort. Glasses of bubbles, American crafted bourbon, or perhaps even a micro brew could have been appreciated on that flight home from Austria, where the talks took place. But Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz had something else in mind, having made a stop in Portugal for a quick climate change meeting prior to participating in the nuclear signing. He happened to have been given a special bottle of Madeira by the U.S. Ambassador to Portugal as part of an honorary ceremony Moniz was involved in. But it came with instructions to only open it after a deal had been struck with Iran.

This is not the first time this sweet fortified wine from the small Portuguese island of Madeira has found itself in a major toasting role. It was Madeira that our Founding Fathers toasted and enjoyed after signing the Declaration of Independence over 200 years ago.

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/Vine-to-Wine-Celebrate-with-historic-island-wine-Madiera#

[MBS]

11. " " " " n/t

[karynnj]

15. Just heard they got 41 Democrats!

Another reason for Moniz and Kerry to celebrate. (One constraint on especially Kerry that the rest of the P5 +1 didn't have was the CERTAINTY of a tough fight against the Republicans and Netanyahu. ) I hope the votes are taken soon and this is all done before the UN meetings and the Pope Francis visit.

[MBS]

17. FANTASTIC!!

oh, yes.
And I'm with you on wishing for getting this done before Pope Francis visit and UN meetings.

(Who were the last 3 Dems? Do you know?)
(edited to answer my own question: Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters. Great! I hadn't held out much hope for Wyden; that was a nice surprise).

[karynnj]

18. They might even have 42 as Cantwell hasn't said anything

It looks like this was actually orchestrated at the end -- and that Manchin, who had always seemed basically for it - with reservations - allowed to vote against it as it likely could be an issue in WV - even in 2018 when he is up.

Like you, I thought Wyden a lost cause and worried about the pressure on Blumenthal. Then again, I thought we HAD Manchin! I also thought that it would be a terrible vote for Cantwell to be against it - as a Senator from WA.

I can imagine that Obama/Kerry/Moniz etc will be happier when the actual votes are cast and done.

[Botany]

12. Not only did Professor Ernie get "baby gear" for his Iranian counterpart but Sec. Kerry ....

..... got the ball rolling a few years ago when he found out that his Iranian counterpart
was going to be at the same function he was going to be at in Paris. Kerry found out that
Iran's "Sec. of State" liked landscape architecture so he went and got a book about
Fredrick Law Olmsted .... the person behind NYC's Central Park ..... the Iranian diplomat
sent a Kerry a letter shortly after that and thanked him for the book, wrote how much he
enjoyed it, and added a little note at the bottom saying that he thought that they should
get together and talk sometime. Kerry responded that yes he thought it would be a good
idea and he would look forward to meeting w/the Iranian diplomat.


And yes those idiots who say it is a "bad deal" don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.
Professor Ernie = B.S. w/honors in Physics from Boston University, Phd in Theoretical physics
from Standford, Professor of Physics MIT, Chairman Dept. of Pysics MIT, and 20 + years of
working in nuclear nuclear non proliferation including work in the old Soviet Union ..... if
Ernie isn't the best in the world at what he did in working with the other 5 nations to get a
a deal w/Iran then the list of people who are as good or better is pretty damn short.

[MBS]

16. oh, yeah-forgot about the Olmsted angle

should have remembered that, since I'm a huge fan of Olmsted, and was very impressed by Kerry's choice. Thanks for the reminder!
And I actually never knew about the thank-you note. . excellent.

These guys are at the top of their game.
We are so lucky to have this team representing us, and working to make the world a better place.

[Botany]

19. "These guys are at the top of their game."

Yup it is called diplomacy and it is work for grown ups. And it is best done
quitely too ..... John Kerry's work in getting this deal done is wonderful.

After 9/11 Iraq, Iran, and North Korea reached out to America in order to hold
talks but bush and company told them no talks and so North Korea
made atomic weapons and missiles, Iran became more radical and
started their nuclear weapons program, and we got bogged down into
an endless blood bath in Iraq which is still going today and that war
made ISIS which in turn chased that poor little Syrian boy and others
away from their homelands only to die in trying to escape.

Kerry, Hillary, Joe Biden, and the President all have had to work ovetime
in trying to clean up bush & Cheney's messes.

Lithia Park, Ashland, Oregon by Fred Law O.

[MBS]

20. yes and yes and yes.

Excellent summary.
Great photo, too.
Almost EVERY urban landscape i'm drawn to turns out to be the work of Olmsted or his son. (Not to mention their work for Yosemite and the CA state park system). Those are people who made a difference in the lives of many people. Too bad that Los Angeles County never adopted Olmsted, Jr's master plan.. it would have been a far better, more livable place. (He did manage to design Palos Verdes, CA- so he at least managed to influence a tiny corner of L.A.)

[riderinthestorm]

2. Bookmarking. Great article and thanks for this nt

[sinkingfeeling]

4. But Tom Cotton and his war hawk friends know more than anybody on earth.

Last edited Tue Sep 8, 2015, 02:13 PM - Edit history (1)

[Beartracks]

7. Pfft. Republicans would think this is a GREAT achievement...

... if Reagan had done it.

================

[daleanime]

14. +1

[spanone]

8. K&R...

[mountain grammy]

10. It is really a horror show that the GOP is trashing a chance at stability

simply because they hate our president. I am constantly embarrassed by American politics.

[daleanime]

13. K&R.....